Press release

Germany take last spot for European Youth Olympic Festival coming up in July

Germany grabbed the last ticket for the European Youth Olympic Festival coming up in July in Utrecht (The Netherlands) following their thrilling 3:2 win over Russia

Bar, Montenegro, April 7, 2013 - Germany grabbed the
last ticket for the European Youth Olympic Festival coming up in July in
Utrecht (The Netherlands) following their thrilling 3-2 win against Russia in
today’s classification duel for seventh place. In today’s second duel, Greece
defeated Slovenia 3-2 to finish fifth in the 2013 CEV Girls' Youth Volleyball European Championship in Bar, Montenegro.

Greece verses Slovenia 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 24-26, 17-25, 15-10)

With the best result in Greece’s history,
Greece defeated Slovenia 3-2 to finish fifth at the
2013 CEV Girls' Youth Volleyball European Championship in Bar, Montenegro.

Greece’s Anthi Vasilantonaki emerged as the
outstanding player of the match with 30 points.

Led by top scorer Vasilantonaki, Greece started with
determination in the first set, while skipper Lana Scuka opened the account for
Slovenia. Vasilantonaki, Olga Strantzali and Ioanna Gkountimenko contributed
enough points to keep pressure on Slovenia and help Greece lead 8-5 and 16-12 at
the technical breaks. Scuka and Nika Markovic popped up on the wings to score
impressive shots, boosting Slovenia to 20-21. At 23-20, however, Vasilantonaki
placed a well-timed shot in the middle of Slovenia’s court to give Greece three
set points. Sara Dukic saved one with a quick combination at the right flank,
but then served the Mikasa into the net to offer Greece a well-deserved 1-0 set
lead.

A 5-0 run in the middle of the second set helped
Greece maintain a lead, as Slovenian receivers experienced major difficulties
with ball control. Head coach Joze Casar sent in second setter Tina Korosec but
couldn’t stop the Greek winning streak. Alexandra Psoma sealed the set at 25-17
with a longline winner from the left.

The match stayed tense as it was tied several times
until late in the third set. Greece had a match ball at 24-23 but couldn’t
conclude, as Slovenia’s Anita Sobocan reeled off the last two points to pull
one set back at 26-24.

Slovenia kept the fourth set under control. Even
though the upcoming Greek stars came from behind to reduce the gap to one point
at 15-16, a 3-0 run restored order for Slovenia at 19-15. To thunderous
applause from the energetic Slovenian supporters, Sobocan hammered the Mikasa
down at 25-17, pulling the match into tie breaker.

The decisive set was hotly contested in the beginning,
with the Greek side taking an upper hand first and leading 8-4 after a Psoma
block on Katja Mihevic. Another Psoma block caused chaos in the back court of
Slovenia, sending Greece to 11-6 ahead while Vasilantonaki climbed well on the
right to close out the match at 15-10.

“I can’t explain how we found the power to win the
fifth set," said Greece's coach Dimitrios Floros. "My players are
just amazing."

“It was tough to play again after yesterday’s
emotions," said Slovenia's coach Joze Casar. "Congratulations to
Greece, they played very well today, especially Anthi Vasilantonaki.”

Germany verses Russia 3-2 (26-24, 25-23, 22-25, 22-25, 15-9)

Germany grabbed the last ticket for July’s European
Youth Olympic Festival in Utrecht (The Netherlands) following their thrilling
3-2 win against Russia in today’s classification duel for the seventh
place.

After Schäfer and Wiebke Silge each spiked, Germany
led the first technical timeout at 8-6 in the opening set and went on to hold
an upper hand on Russia. With Irina Kemmsies stopping Anastasia Lopatina, the
upcoming German stars kept a one-point advantage at the second technical break.
Russia finally found their range and ran off several points in a row to turn
the tables at 21-20.The match became hotly contested as it was evened several
times until Taisia Konovalova sent the Mikasa out of bounds to offer Germany
the first set.

Inspired by in-form Schäfer, who continuously tore
open the Russian defense from the right side to strike some spectacular kills,
Germany kept momentum in the second set. At the end it was again a Russian spiking mistake that gave Germany a hard-earned 2-0 set
lead.

The third set saw another tight competition but to the
contrary of the two previous sets, the young Russians kept cool and converted
their lead into a win to pull one set back at 25-22. Kokoreva was outstanding
on Russia’s side as she scored 10 points in the third period, including one ace
and one block winner.

Following another 25-22 victory, won by a dominant
Russia, the match was dragged into a tie breaker, where Schäfer scored early
points to get Germany a 6-3 lead and force a timeout for Russia. An alert
German team raced to an 8-4 lead at changeover and never looked back en route
to their 15-9 triumph.

“It was a very tough tournament with a lot of
emotions," said Germany's coach Jens Tietböhl. "It was not that easy
to adapt to the new situation in Montenegro as we played the first part of the
competition in Serbia, but at the end we are satisfied with the seventh
place.”

“In the beginning of today’s match we did not play at
the level we should and that caused us to lose the first two sets," said
Russia's coach Yury Shchuplov. "Then we raised our game to a higher level,
but couldn’t pull through in the deciding set.”

The final ranking of the 2013 CEV Girls' Youth Volleyball European Championship determines the six teams representing Europe at this year’s FIVB Girls'
Youth World Championship later this summer in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. The
ranking also determines the eight nations taking part at the European Youth
Olympic Festival in Utrecht (NED), including the organizers from the
Netherlands.

04.08.2013 15:19:50I congratulate every team who took part in this championship, says Turkey’s coach
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, August 4, 2013 – Turkey’s head coach Mehmet Bedestenlioglu expressed his satisfaction over his team’s success. Following ...
More...

04.08.2013 15:11:19"Finally we achieved our target," says China coach
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, August 4, 2013 –China became the world champion after they beat USA in straight sets. While Brazil won the third place in...
More...

04.08.2013 12:07:01Brazil capture bronze with win against Peru
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, August 3, 2013 - Brazil gained their ninth medal in their 13th participation at the Girls' U18 World Championship with a ...
More...